


I kind of blame you for being you

by BarbAndCo



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, First Date, First Kiss, M/M, One Shot, awkward first date, yet another ba sing se au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-19 11:08:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29998428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarbAndCo/pseuds/BarbAndCo
Summary: Jet asks Zuko out on a date with Jin's support. It goes as well as one would expect.
Relationships: Jet/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 51





	I kind of blame you for being you

**Author's Note:**

> this is a product of intense procrastination. rip to my deadlines.

“You should just ask him out,” a girl tells him out of the blue. Jet snaps out of his daze and looks up to see she’s smiling at him like they just shared a secret.

Jet loosens his posture a bit in a bid to seem casual. He leans back on his chair and meets the girl’s eyes with a confident smirk.

“Ask who?” he goes for nonchalance, but he has no idea if he’s landed it.

The girl takes the seat from across him, propping her chin up on her palms. She tilts her head in the direction of the tea boy wiping down tables.

“Him,” she says.

“And why would I do that?” Jet lets his amusement show. He leans forward meeting the girl in the middle of the table.

“Because you’ve been staring at him for the better part of an hour and you’re not being subtle about it,” she replies.

Jet considers her words for a moment. He has been staring at Li, or whatever his real name is, but it’s not for reasons the girl thinks. Ever since that day at the train station, he’s been a man on a mission. He knows the old man is a fire bender—he’s pretty sure Li is too—and he’s been trying to find ways to prove it.

Smellerbee and Longshot made him realize that noticing a man has heated tea and the gut feeling that he’s absolutely in the right don’t count for shit. So, here he is sitting in a tea shop watching… waiting for something to happen. He got too caught up in his own head, he didn’t realize that someone’s been watching him too.

“So, are you gonna do it?” she presses on when he says nothing. “If you don’t, I will.”

“How sure are you that he’ll say yes to you?” Jet grins, he already likes this brazen girl.

“I’m not.” She shrugs. “Honestly, I think you’ve got a better chance than me.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because he’s been staring at you too.”

“Oh?” Jet’s eyes widen in surprise. Either he’s been slipping, or Li is a lot sneaker than Jet gives him credit for.

“Every time you look away, he’s been looking back,” she says. “Like right now.”

Sure enough when Jet whips his head to Li, the tea shop boy looks away quickly focusing twice as hard at the task at hand. Jet snickers and the girl’s eyes brighten.

“See,” the girl says. “I think he likes you too.”

Jet can see how this might all look like from the outside. He goes to the tea shop often enough and sits for hours just observing. It’s easy to mistake the watchful eyes as admiring, and the quick furtive glances as shy infatuation.

She doesn’t know that Jet is looking for a way to get inside Li’s head and reveal him and his uncle for who they really are.

“Sitting around here won’t get you anywhere,” she tells him.

 _She’s got a point_ , Jet thinks. Surveillance hasn’t gotten him anything. He’s tried forcing them to bend but nothing came of that too. If he really wanted to get closer to Li, maybe he should take a more direct route.

“You’re right—” Jet pauses, “—uh what’s your name?”

“It’s Jin.” Jin winks. “What’s yours?”

“Jet.”

“Well, Jet. Go get him.”

“Alright, I will.” Jet stands. “Thanks.”

He can feel her watching him as he goes up to the counter. Li and his uncle are off to the side huddled together. Li seems to be whispering something urgent to Mushi when Jet interrupts by way of knocking, loudly on the counter.

“Jet!” Mushi greets him with a big warm smile. “Nice to see you dropping by again.”

“Well, it is the best tea shop in the city.” Jet returns the smile with his own and hopes it comes across as genuine.

“You flatter me,” Mushi says with a hearty chuckle.

“What do you want?” Li asks abruptly.

Jet can’t read Li very well, he doesn’t know how to yet, but he feels like he struck a nerve just by being in the shop. He’s not sure if that was his goal or not.

“I wanted to ask you something actually,” Jet says trying to look shy. “I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime?”

Li’s face goes through dozens of conflicting emotions all at once. In the end, he settles on dumbstruck. Jet thinks it’s a good look on him.

Mushi, on the other hand, positively beams. He puts his arm around Li’s shoulder and answers for his nephew. “He’d love to!”

“Great. I’ll meet you later at sundown.” Jet leaves before Li could get a word in. He passes by Jin who gives him a thumbs up. This will be interesting.

* * *

Li comes out of the shop looking shined and polished. Jet tries very hard not to make fun of him.

“Shut up,” Li says.

“I didn’t say anything.”

Li runs his hands through his pomade full hair trying to get it back to its natural untamed state. He’s successful kind of but there are still awkward clumps here and there. Jet wants to run his fingers through them.

“Come on, I’m taking you to this meat bun shop I really like,” Jet tugs at Li’s arm. Li, predictably, wrenches it out of his grip.

Li follows him albeit reluctantly. Jet knows that Li knows he’s up to something. To abate the mounting awkward tension, Jet goes for small talk.

It turns out Li is really bad at small talk.

“How do you like the city so far?” Jet asks. They’re already seated at the back of the shop where they’re less likely to be overheard.

“I don’t,” Li answers.

“What did you do before you came to Ba Sing Se?”

“Nothing.”

“You have to give me something to work with here.” He doesn’t know if LI is being difficult on purpose or this is just the way he is. Probably the latter. He’s kind of into it.

“Ask better questions then,” Li snaps.

“Alright.” Jet tries to come up with something that will also help him get to the bottom of Li and Mushi secret fire benders. “What made you want to learn sword fighting?”

Li stops picking at his meat bun to look at Jet, wide-eyed surprise written all over his features. If Li isn’t a suspected fire bender, he’d be pretty cute in Jet’s opinion. Too bad, he’s a fire bender though.

“I thought it would be useful and it is.” Li takes a bite out of his meat bun to avoid talking further.

“You’re pretty good at those swords back on the ferry.”

“I know.” Li thinks for a moment and says, “You are good too… with your swords I mean…for someone so… obviously untrained by someone competent.”

“Thank you,” Jet says. “I think.”

“It was a compliment.”

“Was it though?”

“You’re impossible.”

“Me?” Jet bites his lip trying to hide his smile. “You’re the one calling me unskilled because I wasn’t formally trained.”

“I was saying the opposite!” Li yells drawing everyone’s attention to them.

“Cool.” Jet smiles. “You want to go somewhere else?”

Jet realizes belatedly that he may have lost the point of the whole going out with Li thing which was to gather information on him and use it to prove he’s a fire bender. But what Jet didn’t count on two things. First, how normal Li is as a person. Everything about the way he acts screams genuine awkwardness and distaste with the world.

And second, Jet didn’t realize how lonely he is and how badly he needs someone who didn’t know about his past. Someone who doesn’t know he’s running away from something so shameful and dishonorable.

“Come on. Let’s go.” Li drags him out of the shop and much to Jet’s surprise, he lets him. He should be kicking and screaming. Something about the Fire Nation suppressing trying to control him, but what use would it be for him to scream about it now?

Li is dragging him to a familiar path.

“Are you taking me to the Firelight Fountain?” he asks.

“Yes.” Li does not feel the need to elaborate.

“I heard people get kissed there.”

Li releases Jet’s arm and shoves him a little.

“You talk too much,” Li says and stomps off towards the fountain. Jet follows suit.

* * *

When they get to the Firelight Fountain, the lanterns are already lit and no one else is there. The lights create a dreamy haze around the courtyard. The water twinkles as it reflects the paper lanterns floating around adding to the magical atmosphere.

“I know you’re a fire bender.” Jet doesn’t see a reason why he shouldn’t just come out and say it. “I’m going to find a way to prove it.”

“We’re not here to cause trouble,” Li says. For a brief second, Jet wants to believe him.

“From my experience, all the Fire Nation ever does is cause trouble.”

“I know.” Li’s frown deepens. “Whether you believe it or not, my uncle and I are here for a new start just like you.”

“You don’t belong here,” Jet presses on.

“Neither do you,” Li answers back.

Somewhere between the arguing, Jet and Li find themselves staring each other down. Faces only breathes apart. In a moment, only one of two things can happen. They can come to blows and settle this with hurt. Or they can close the distance.

People kiss in the Firelight Fountain.

Jet pulls back, a moment of hesitation, then their lips meet again and a part of him melts. All too soon the reality of what’s happening dawns on Jet and for the first time in his life, he runs away.

* * *

Zuko watches Jet run off, he doesn’t chase him. Why should he? The imprint of Jet’s kiss doesn’t burn, but it leaves him aching.

Sometimes, late at night when he lights a small fire with his fingertips, he’ll think of the firelight twinkling like the stars and he’ll think of soft lips on his.

**Author's Note:**

> as always thanks for reading!


End file.
